TheOrk wrote:That's great! The Fright Knights and the Legolanders are some of the coolest.

Once I'm finished with Belzzar/Radu(about to register him) I won't be using them for a long while, so feel free to use them if you want.

Radu, eh??? I await curiously...

We'll see about using your characters. As a general rule, I like to use my own characters (one will note that in my year of RPing, I have rarely made a character of someone else's a major player in my story, even if I allowed one of my major characters to be a major player in one of theirs...)

On the other hand, I've got more than enough people on my hands without going and making more...

Lord_Of_The_LEGO wrote:and so on...

Ohh, wouldn't it be sweet to get all of these dudes together in one room?

Lord_Of_The_LEGO wrote:Ohh, wouldn't it be sweet to get all of these dudes together in one room?

LOL I can see it all now.

Caimlin: Targon! I thought you were dead!

Bargon: Yes, I as well. Didn't I kill you?

Caimlin: And who are you?

Bargon: Don't you remember, I'm Bargon.

Caimlin: WHAT! I thought you were dead too! I killed you!

Bargon: Well don't look at me, I'm still trying figure out why Lord Void is still alive. Didn't he get blown up?

Targon: Yeah, I thought so too. And speaking of folks who were blown up, what are you doing here, Drock?

Elbadar: Fer cryin' out loud, doesn't anyone stay dead these days.

Ominous voice from overhead: Ahem. Alow me to explain. You see Targon had a magical rock that wouldn't let him die, Bargon was given the wrong potion, Lord Void teleported away from the eplosion, and Drock used an ancient spell of protection to save himself. So you see, none of them ever actually died.

Formendacil wrote:No Faction: 40 (formerly 32) Considering the immense popularity of No Faction characters in former times, this is a massive slowdown. Most of the formerly registered characters are still in there, and some should perhaps more properly be registered under a specific faction, such as Elwen. Even so, this category, at 40, totally wipes out all comers, and has had a healthy net growth of 8 characters (25% its former total), and is likely poised to grow further in the near future.

Rereading this thread, I think I know the reason why non-faction specific characters have fallen in popularity. It's the same reason a Misfits-style, free-for-all, absolutely-nothing-is-planned, style plot is now so rare: plots nowadays need to have some sense of direction. Therefore, many of these new characters registered with factions were originally 'plot devices'. Take Ajaxx, Japheth, Opal and Morgue for example. I created them for a reason, and their future's pretty well plotted out. Also look at Thomas, Brakespear, and Bernard. They all played (or are playing) a key role in a plot, and were created for a reason.

Reno, on the other hand, and as far as I know, was created with no plan in mind. His character description was vague. His faction None. His goal: unplanned.

Those types of characters worked wonderfully in the Misfits Era. But slowly, the tendrils of plot planned began to grasp the Roleplay during Dragonlust, and was in full force by the time the Return of the Bulls and the BloodVaine epic was underway. Mike started the theme of a one-man powered plot with Quest Of The Wizardsbane which style is seen later in Walf's Adventure and my current Dragon Master plot, while also touching the Fell War and War Within The Wolfpack

The BloodVaine Epic and Peregrine Politics was the pinnacle of planning. Almost everything was thought out.

Now, in this Post-BloodVaine Era, planning is still a key part in a plot, but is it not so dominant, at least in most plots.

For the record, only Bjarn and Lord Void truly were not plot-device characters. Everyone else, from Rosa to Gonderin to Hans to the Lone Falcon to Viktor to Dale was (at least) originally part of a larger plot, or had his/her future planned out to some degree.

Seven months ago, I tallied up the Roleplay characters, to get some basic stats about our factions. In honour of our 2nd Anniversary, I've done so again, comparing the new numbers to those of last June.

In counting the characters this time, I have counted NONE of the dead characters, and none of the characters that ought to be dead* I have also not counted any charactes belonging to deleted or banned members.

All other registered characters have been counted. Of course, this is an imprecise system, since many characters are never registered, many have imprecise faction designations, and more than a few are inactive/stagnant. However, that is just how things go...

No Faction: 46 (formerly 40) Six new characters- or a NET gain of six new characters in the No Faction/Rogue category shows that as the Roleplay ages, people are becoming a good deal more comfortable with using the established factions, and healthy growth in most of those will show the same trend. However, 15% growth isn't too bad, and it leaves the No Faction solidly in their traditional first place position.

Dragon Masters: 22 (formerly 16) I can't believe that these guys still lead the factions so soldily... Seriously, you'd think that they'd start to slow down by now. I don't even know half of these guys. And at 37.5% growth, it's not just an old lead that keep the Dragon Masters ahead, but ongoing popularity!

Fright Knights: 14 (formerly 7) Boy was I right when I said these guys would do good in the next census period! A solid 100% gain can probably be attributed to the post-Ball antics surrounding Castle Dracul. I would not expect the same growth from them in the next period.

Classic Legoland: 13 (formerly 12) The Dragon Masters may be cruising ahead with continual impressive growth, but the Classics have seen their numbers grow by a mere 1 since the last census. Just 1!!! The great days of the Classics are over... but they still hold third place.

Forestmen: 12*** (formerly 12) The days of Forestmen expansionism is clearly over. There is a complete absence of change on this scene.

Ninja: 11 (formerly 7)** Pretty impressive growth here! I think that any blame or praise that may be noted for that should be laid squarely at Maedhros' door. This is his field of expertise, and the change in demographics since he joined the RP shows that.

Royal Knights: 10 (formerly 4) 150% growth! WOOT! Precisely where this impressive growth comes from, I'm not entirely sure, since the Royal Knights have yet to play a truly important role in any of the great epics thus far, but such growth is encouraging for the future of my favourite faction.

Black Falcons: 9 (formerly 8)**** Poor Black Falcons... only one new registered citizen- and I'd bet you anything it's Merina Valenti who's that one citizen. Really, its quite sad how the most famous faction in fandom is so ignored in the RP these days...

Dark Forest: 9 (formerly 5) Blame me and Nathan for this one. Honestly, the only surprise about the 80% growth here is that it wasn't more! However, we've been quite good about not registering ALL of the Hemmeringtoners we've come across. Yet.

Knight's Kingdom (1): 8 (formerly 5) Eight KK1!!! Eight KK1??? I'm still trying to figure out where the original five came from! Still, 60% gains are quite impressive, and I'm wagering we'll see more of them in the near future... There's a lot of room for growth in this undefined faction.

Shadow Knights: 7 (formerly 4) Good job people! 75% gains are pretty impressive, considering the lowkey approach that has been taken towards the Shadow Knights, plotwise, in the last few months. I'm still waiting for a major Shadow Knight explosion onto the scene of things in Dametreos.

Crusaders: 6 (formerly 7)**** I'm not really sure who we lost, or how, over the last few months. Maybe its the fact that I'm not counting banned members' characters this time. In any case, we've seen no real growth here, and I'm not predicting any for the near future. These guys, simply put, don't seem able to capture the Roleplaying imagination.

Bull Knights: 6 (formerly 5) Tied with the Crusaders, the Bull Knights have seen a one-man gain over the last period instead of a one-man loss. They remain a rather quiet faction, but I'd love to see more of them. These guys are a ton of fun.

Knight's Kingdom (2): 6 (formerly 7) I'm even more perplexed at the census difference here than I am with the Crusaders... but there must be a valid reason. Whatever it is, these guys have been a much quieter faction over the past few months, as Sir Kohran has turned to other places. All the same, I can still see room for growth here. These guys have barely been touched on.

Pirates: 6 (formerly 4) 50% growth in the Pirate sector?? Now where did THAT come from? Honestly, I don't remember any new Pirate activity lately. Not since the Seafaring Saga. I think this may be tied to the Unactive New Members Syndrome.

Wolfpack: 5 (formerly 5) Zilch growth here. These guys are a fun faction, but their style of fun doesn't seem to interest our current crop of RPers. Perhaps next year...

Black Knights: 4 (formerly 8) There's no doubts here as to why the numbers took a 50% drop downwards. It clearly has to do with not counting Banned Member's characters, and I think that Daimyo may have had a few. I'm quite surprised, really, that this favourite of factions has had so little Roleplay action... but we have time yet to remedy that!

And finally...

Vikings: 4 (formerly 0) There's been a good, handsome reception to Castle's newest faction, in terms of character registration, but we have yet to see much of a plot develop for them. But give them time, and I'm sure that will change...

In Total:

We have 198 characters, as counted, up from 152 at the last count. That's nearly one-third more than before! Keep it up, everybody!

And happy anniversary!

*I believe that one of Maedhros' Ninja characters is actually dead, but a lack of firm memory for his names leaves this uncertain.

**Whereas last time I counted Kendo as either a Ninja or a Pirate, I have here definitively listed him as a Pirate.

*** Aaylah Jerlock, registered as a Dark Forest/Forestman is counted here as a Forestman (sic) because of the registry of Fraun Jerlock.

****Lemon_Squeezer2's character Otto is registered as a Crusader/Black Falcon. Because he is said to reside in Crusader territory, I have listed him there.

Great job Mike! I always look forward to these types of CCRP related topics.

Just one little problem:

Black Falcons: 9 (formerly **** Poor Black Falcons... only one new registered citizen- and I'd bet you anything it's Merina Valenti who's that one citizen. Really, its quite sad how the most famous faction in fandom is so ignored in the RP these days...

Sorry to be so fussy, but did you include Callomir and Gaeth for the Royal Knights? I registered them a few months back, just Nathan hasn't updated the site with them (understandable though, as I haven't done all that much with them recently...). Laso, did you count Sotrm and Mikelen in the KK1 section? I admit it's picky of me, but it is more accurate.

Sir Kohran wrote:Sorry to be so fussy, but did you include Callomir and Gaeth for the Royal Knights? I registered them a few months back, just Nathan hasn't updated the site with them (understandable though, as I haven't done all that much with them recently...). Laso, did you count Sotrm and Mikelen in the KK1 section? I admit it's picky of me, but it is more accurate.

Callomir and Gaeth ought to in there... So should your three, T'Ork.

However, I'll leave the numbers as they be. Hopefully, by the time I take the Census again, they'll be there.

As for Mikelen and Storm: were they ever properly registered? I'm of the understanding that they weren't- and consequently, they aren't there, nor should they be.